Provinces set the clock, and British Columbia has changed
Time zones and daylight saving time in Canada are set by provinces and territories rather than federally. Much of the country moves clocks forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November; Quebec, for example, follows that rule on Eastern Time.
British Columbia is now different. Most of the province adopted permanent year-round Pacific time (PCT), at UTC-7, and did not turn its clocks back on 1 November 2026. Vancouver is therefore 12 h 30 min behind India all year, and two hours behind Toronto in winter rather than three. Some communities in north-east and south-east BC keep their own arrangements.
Other provinces and territories have exceptions of their own, and the National Research Council advises checking with them directly, so we confirm the time zone of everyone on a project at the start.
What a Canadian engagement looks like
Teams split between Eastern and Pacific offices often find recorded demos more practical than live ones, because no single slot suits everyone in Canada and India at once.
- A discovery call in your morning, which is India’s evening, to agree the problem and who decides
- A written proposal setting out scope, milestones, timeline, contract terms, currency and payment
- Work in milestones, each closed with a recorded demo you can watch when convenient and a written summary
- Handover of code, documentation and credentials, followed by removal of our access
PIPEDA, provincial laws and Quebec’s Law 25
Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law is PIPEDA, overseen by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own private-sector laws deemed substantially similar, and PIPEDA can still apply when personal information crosses provincial or national borders.
Quebec’s Law 25 deserves a mention if you operate there. Before personal information is communicated outside Quebec, the organisation must carry out a privacy impact assessment, and the transfer must be covered by a written agreement. Those decisions belong to you and your advisers. We support them by working within your requirements and contracts, keeping personal data in your systems and limiting what our team can see.
Language, accounts and ownership
We work in English. Where a site or tool needs French, we build a bilingual structure and you supply or approve the French text.
- Cloud, domain and repository accounts registered to your company, with billing direct from the provider
- Individual logins with least-privilege roles for each person on our side
- Our access revoked by you at handover, with a written list of everything we touched
Time zones and meeting windows
India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 all year; India does not change its clocks.
| Time zone | Difference from India | Typical overlap |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Time (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal) | India is 9 h 30 min ahead (10 h 30 min in winter) | Early morning only: about 08:00–09:30 Eastern from March to November and 07:30–08:30 in winter, which is the last part of our 10:00–19:00 IST day. |
| Pacific time, PCT (Vancouver, Victoria) | India is 12 h 30 min ahead all year, now that most of BC no longer changes clocks | None inside office hours: our day closes at 06:30 Vancouver time. Work is asynchronous, and any live call slot is agreed in the proposal. |
Common questions
Can you provide service in French?
No. TrueOrbis works in English. We can build bilingual websites and applications, but French copy and any French-language support need to come from your team or a translator.
Does British Columbia’s new time standard change our schedule with you?
Slightly. Since 1 November 2026 most of BC stays at UTC-7, so Vancouver is 12 h 30 min behind India throughout the year instead of switching between 12 h 30 min and 13 h 30 min.
Can our data stay in Canada?
That is your choice. We work in systems and cloud accounts you own, so data can remain in a Canadian hosting region if your provider offers one and your own assessment calls for it.
How are contract terms and payment handled?
Each engagement is quoted on its own. The written proposal sets out scope, milestones, currency, payment schedule and contract terms before work begins.
Official sources
Rules and portals change. Always confirm the current position on the official source before you apply.
- Time zones and daylight saving time (opens in a new tab) — National Research Council Canada
- B.C.’s new time zone (Pacific time) (opens in a new tab) — Province of British Columbia
- No falling back with B.C.’s new time zone code, Pacific Time: PCT (opens in a new tab) — BC Gov News
- Changement d’heure (temps légal) (opens in a new tab) — Gouvernement du Québec
- PIPEDA requirements in brief (opens in a new tab) — Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Principaux changements de la Loi 25 (opens in a new tab) — Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec
Last reviewed: